[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 242 (Friday, December 17, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70982-70983]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-32722]
[[Page 70981]]
_______________________________________________________________________
Part VIII
Department of Education
_______________________________________________________________________
Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; Special
Education--Technology and Media Services for Individuals With
Disabilities Program; Notice
Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 242 / Friday, December 17, 1999 /
Notices
[[Page 70982]]
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; Special
Education--Technology and Media Services for Individuals With
Disabilities Program
AGENCY: Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice inviting public comments.
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SUMMARY: Section 687(c)(2) of the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA), as amended, requires that, after September 30,
2001, funds from an award made under this authority may only be used
for video description and captioning of educational, news, and
informational television, videos, or materials. The Secretary of
Education invites comments and recommendations from the public on what
the term ``educational, news, and informational'' encompasses in
reference to the description and captioning of television, videos, and
materials.
DATES: All comments must be received by the Department on January 18,
2000.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be addressed to Debra Sturdivant,
Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, U.S.
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Room 3527, Switzer
Building, Washington, DC 20202-2641. FAX: (202) 205-8105 (FAX is the
preferred method for requesting information). Telephone: (202) 205-
8038. If you prefer to send your comments through the Internet, use the
following address: [email protected]
You must include the phrase ``educational media activities'' in the
subject line of your electronic message.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Debra Sturdivant (202) 205-8038 or Jo
Ann McCann (202) 205-8475, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland
Avenue, SW., Washington DC 20202-2641. If you use a telecommunications
device for the deaf (TDD), you may call the Federal Information Relay
Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an
alternate format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer
diskette) on request to the contact persons listed in the preceding
paragraph.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Invitation To Comment
We invite you to submit comments regarding what the term
``educational, news, and informational''means in reference to the
description and captioning of television, videos or materials.
During and after the comment period, you may inspect all public
comments concerning this issue in Room 3512, 330 C Street SW.,
Washington, DC, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., Eastern
time, Monday through Friday of each week except Federal holidays.
On request, we will supply an appropriate aid, such as a reader or
print magnifier, to an individual with a disability who needs
assistance to review the comments. If you want to schedule an
appointment for this type of aid, you may call (202) 205-8113 or (202)
260-9895. If you use a TDD, you may call the Federal Information Relay
Service at 1-800-877-8339.
Background
On June 4, 1997, the President signed into law Public Law 105-17,
the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997. In
accordance with section 687(c)(2) of the amended IDEA, after September
30, 2001, funds from an award made under this authority may only be
used for video description and captioning of educational, news, and
informational television, videos, or materials. Based on this
provision, the Secretary proposes to provide guidance to awardees as
well as potential applicants regarding the range of television, videos,
or materials appropriate for description or captioning under this
program. After September 30, 2001, an awardee may be required to
substitute some or all of the television, videos, and materials that it
describes or captions under an award made under this authority with
different television, videos, and materials in order to comply with the
requirement that all videos description and captioning be of
educational, news, or informational programming and materials.
The Department currently provides funding for the description of
network and cable television programming and home videos, which makes
television programming and home videos more accessible to individuals
who are blind or have low vision. In addition to presenting the visual
elements of a television program or home video, description helps these
individuals to better understand concepts such as facial expressions,
body language, fashion, colors, shapes and relative sizes.
The Department currently funds the description of a limited number
of programs for PBS, Nostalgia Television, Turner Classic Movies, and
Kaleidoscope Television. Additional hours of programming are available
on the World Wide Web at NarrativeTV.com. Popular videos are described
and made available for sale to individuals. Many libraries also
purchase these described versions for their patrons. Described movies
include such movies as Dumbo, Sneakers, The Rock, Casablanca, and
Jurassic Park.
The Department also provides funding for the closed captioning of
television and videos, which provides a visual presentation of the
audio portion and enables individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing
to watch television or videos along with their non-disabled family
members and peers. Individuals, who can hear, as well as those with a
hearing loss, may also advance their literacy skills through incidental
learning by watching captioned television or videos.
The Department currently funds a wide range of closed captioned
national television programming. Department funded captioned
programming is available on the major networks, ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, and
Telemundo, which broadcasts and is captioned in Spanish, as well as on
a wide variety of cable networks such as ESPN, DISCOVERY, The History
Channel, PAX-TV, Nickelodeon, Lifetime, SCI-FI, MSNBC, CNN Headline
News, and Disney.
Closed captioned news and public information programming includes
major national broadcast news and cable news. Closed captioned
children's programming includes Sesame Street, Saturday morning
cartoons, nature programming and children's specials. Closed captioned
daytime programming provides access to daytime drama, talk shows, baby
care, and home and family programming. Closed captioning of sports
programming provides access to major regional and national sporting
events, including football, baseball, golf, soccer, tennis, hockey, and
fishing. Closed captioned syndicated programs make it possible to have
captioned versions of the reruns of programs such as ``M*A*S*H'', ``I
Love Lucy'', ``Beverly Hillbillies'', and the ``Twilight Zone''.
The Department provides funding for projects to close caption local
news programming in cities across the country.
The Department also provides funding for open captioning of
educational videos. Open captioned videos, which include a small
percentage in Spanish, are used by students and other individuals who
are deaf or hard of hearing, and teachers, parents and other
individuals directly involved in activities promoting the advancement
of individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. Popular open captioned
educational videos funded by the Department include shows on deaf
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culture, sign language, holidays, science, social studies, and history.
Sample titles include, ``Deaf Culture Lecture'', ``Playing in the
Park'' and ``Read Any Good Fingers Lately''.
Intergovernmental Review
This program is subject to Executive Order 12372 and the
regulations in 34 CFR part 79. One of the objectives of the Executive
order is to foster an intergovernmental partnership and a strengthened
federalism. The Executive order relies on processes developed by State
and local governments for coordination and review of proposed Federal
financial assistance.
This document provides early notification of our specific plans and
actions for this program.
Electronic Access to This Document
You may view this document, as well as all other Department of
Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe
Portable Document Format (PDF) on the Internet at either of the
following sites:
http://ocfo.ed.gov/fedreg.htm
http://www.ed.gov/news.html
To use the PDF you must have the Adobe Acrobat Reader Program with
Search, which is available free at either of the previous sites. If you
have questions about using the PDF, call the U.S. Government Printing
Office (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in the Washington, DC,
area at (202) 512-1530.
Note: The official version of this document is the document
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal
Regulations is available on GPO Access at: http://
www.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 84.327: Technology
and Media Services for Individuals with Disabilities Program)
Dated: December 13, 1999.
Judith E. Heumann,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. 99-32722 Filed 12-16-99; 8:45 am]
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